01Key Takeaways
- The State of Palestine exported $1.52 billion worth of goods in 2023, down 0.2% from $1.53 billion in 2022, essentially unchanged and the most recent year with verified trade data available in this dataset.
- Furniture, lighting fittings and prefabricated buildings led export categories at 13.1% ($199.06 million), closely followed by stone, plaster and cement articles at 11.4% ($173.37 million).
- Israel was by far the largest export market, absorbing 84.0% of exports, worth $1.28 billion.
- The top three export partners together accounted for 92.5% of total export value.
025-Year Trend
| Year | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Value | $1.1B | $1.1B | $1.4B | $1.5B | $1.5B |
03Top Export Markets (2023)
| Rank | Partner | Value | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Israel | $1.3B | 84.0% |
| 2 | Jordan | $105.2M | 6.9% |
| 3 | United Arab Emirates | $24.2M | 1.6% |
| 4 | Turkey | $22.3M | 1.5% |
| 5 | United States | $20.8M | 1.4% |
| 6 | Saudi Arabia | $9.9M | 0.7% |
| 7 | United Kingdom | $8.5M | 0.6% |
| 8 | Kuwait | $7.0M | 0.5% |
| 9 | Germany | $4.6M | 0.3% |
| 10 | Qatar | $4.4M | 0.3% |
04Top Export Categories (2023)
| Rank | Category | Value | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Furniture; Bedding, Mattresses, Mattress Supports, Cushions and similar Stuffed Furnishings; Lamps and Lighting Fittings, not elsewhere specified or included; Illuminated Signs, Illuminated Name-plates and the like; Prefabricated Buildings | $199.1M | 13.1% |
| 2 | Articles of Stone, Plaster, Cement, Asbestos, Mica or similar Materials | $173.4M | 11.4% |
| 3 | Iron and Steel | $150.5M | 9.9% |
| 4 | Plastics and Articles thereof | $137.4M | 9.0% |
| 5 | Edible Fruit and Nuts; Peel of Citrus Fruit or Melons | $74.9M | 4.9% |
| 6 | Salt; Sulphur; Earths and Stone; Plastering Materials, Lime and Cement | $69.5M | 4.6% |
| 7 | Articles of Iron or Steel | $59.1M | 3.9% |
| 8 | Aluminium and Articles thereof | $56.9M | 3.7% |
| 9 | Animal or Vegetable Fats and Oils and their Cleavage Products; Prepared Edible Fats; Animal or Vegetable Waxes | $46.1M | 3.0% |
| 10 | Wood and Articles of Wood; Wood Charcoal | $35.1M | 2.3% |
05Trade Partner Map
06Analysis
Export Value Held Steady in 2023 After a Two-Year Climb
The State of Palestine exported $1.52 billion worth of goods in 2023, down 0.2% from $1.53 billion in 2022. This is the most recent year with verified trade data available in this dataset. The dataset covers a full five years, from 2019 through 2023.
Export value stood at $1.10 billion in 2019. It fell to $1.05 billion in 2020, the low point of this five-year window. It then climbed for two consecutive years in a row, reaching $1.36 billion in 2021 and $1.53 billion in 2022, before holding almost flat at $1.52 billion in 2023.
This dataset does not explain the 2020 dip or the sharp two-year climb that followed. Export value in 2023 nonetheless remained well above every year in this window before 2022. A change of just 0.2% describes a plateau rather than a genuine decline, arriving right after the fastest growth stretch in this five-year period. The five-year pattern traces a shallow dip, a steep two-year climb, and then a flat final year, rather than a steady move in a single direction. The scale of that earlier climb makes the 2023 plateau stand out even more, since two years of rapid growth gave way to a year where export value barely moved at all.
Furniture, Stone and Metals Lead a Relatively Broad Export Mix
Furniture, lighting fittings and prefabricated buildings led every export category in 2023, worth $199.06 million, or 13.1% of the total. Stone, plaster, cement and similar mineral-based articles followed closely at 11.4%, worth $173.37 million. Iron and steel added 9.9%, worth $150.48 million, and plastics rounded out a top four at 9.0%, worth $137.37 million. These four categories sit close together near the top of the list, rather than one single category pulling far ahead of the rest.
Fruit and nuts contributed 4.9% ($74.91 million), and salt, sulphur and earths added 4.6% ($69.46 million). Iron or steel articles, a separate finished-goods category from the raw iron and steel above, contributed 3.9% ($59.11 million). Aluminium followed at 3.7% ($56.92 million). Stone, salt and other mineral-based materials appearing more than once on this list points to a quarrying and construction-materials base that runs deeper than a single category can show on its own.
Animal and vegetable fats and oils contributed 3.0% ($46.15 million), and wood closed out the top ten at 2.3%, worth $35.06 million, the smallest share among the ten categories listed here. No single category here approaches even 15% of total value, a notably flatter distribution than economies where one commodity dominates the export list. Furniture, building materials, metals and plastics together describe an export mix leaning toward manufactured and construction-related goods rather than a single raw commodity. That spread across ten categories, none of them overwhelming, sets this list apart from export profiles built around one dominant crop or resource.
Israel Absorbs the Overwhelming Majority of Exports
Israel was by far the State of Palestine's largest export market in 2023, taking 84.0% of exports, worth $1.28 billion. Trade between the West Bank and Gaza and Israel operates under a customs union arrangement with no tariffs between the two, administered by Israel. That arrangement helps explain why a single destination accounts for such an outsized share of total exports here.
Jordan ranked a distant second at 6.9%, worth $105.17 million. Together, Israel and Jordan alone accounted for over 90% of total export value, and the top three partners combined reached 92.5%. A concentration this high leaves very little room in the rest of the list for any other single market to matter much by comparison.
United Arab Emirates rounded out the top three at 1.6% ($24.16 million). Turkey followed at 1.5% ($22.33 million), and United States added 1.4% ($20.84 million).
Saudi Arabia contributed 0.7% ($9.91 million), and United Kingdom added 0.6% ($8.45 million). Kuwait followed at 0.5% ($6.98 million), and Germany added 0.3% ($4.55 million). Qatar closed out the top ten at 0.3% ($4.36 million), the smallest share among the ten partners listed here. Every partner outside the top two holds a share below 2%, a far steeper drop-off than typically seen once a partner list reaches its middle ranks.
Taken together, this dataset's most recent confirmed year describes an export profile split across furniture, building materials and metals, sold overwhelmingly to a single dominant neighboring market in Israel under the region's customs arrangement.